SIX TO HELP PROMOTE JAIL

BENTON -- Six Scott County residents have agreed to join an advisory committee to promote a new county jail and increased law enforcement services.

The Scott County Commission and Sheriff Bill Ferell explained the reasons Monday for the two quarter-cent sales tax issues on the April 4 ballot.

Another half-dozen county residents are expected to join the advisory committee when it meets again Thursday at 7 p.m. to continue discussions on how to promote the issues.

"We are looking for your support and your good word around the county," Presiding Commissioner Bob Kielhofner told the group at the courthouse.

Kielhofner said the commission didn't enjoy asking for the tax issues, but the county didn't have any other revenues to fund a jail or provide for additional services.

At the rate of 25 cents on a $100 purchase, the sales tax issues will raise about $700,000 each per year, Kielhofner said. The one issue will raise enough funds to pay for a new jail in eight to 10 years, he said. The second issue is needed for increased staffing.

Associate Commissioner Joe Spalding of Benton said a new jail has been considered for six years as the county has bought properties next to the sheriff's office, and the commission thinks it would be better to incorporate the new jail and sheriff's office into one design.

Associate Commissioner Walter Bizzell of Sikeston told the group that Circuit Judge Anthony Heckemeyer has said he could fill an 80-bed jail overnight and he has to let people out of jail because there is no where else to put them.

Ferrell told the group the jail was a public works project completed in 1933 with four beds in each of the 12 cells. A kitchen, dispatch area and foyer were added in 1971.

When Ferrell took office in 1977, the jail held an average of 26 prisoners. Now the jail averages 45 prisoners a day, he said.

There is no way to segregate prisoners with the current jail, Ferrell said. That means that someone who has to spend 48 consecutive hours in jail for driving while suspended may be placed in a cell with a violent offender, he said.

Ferrell said a new jail is inevitable and it would be better for the county to proceed with its own plans than to have a federal judge force the issue.

Ferrell said he wasn't looking for a Taj Mahal of a jail. He said operating a larger jail will better handle the county's growing crime problem.

The group met Bob Stearnes of Sikeston, who has been selected as the project's architect. He introduced Jim Galle, a jail specialist with the DLR Group of Kansas City.

The group also heard from Karen Irwin and Timothy Guiling with the St. Louis office of A.G. Edwards & Sons. Irwin said a flexible financing plan has been suggested for paying off the bonds for the new jail. She said her firm would be a resource for the committee as it plans its promotional efforts over the next three weeks.